About New York walk through Times Square with Fred Kent of Project for Public Spaces, group that designs urban oases for human beings; Kent points out serendipitous view of Empire State Building, which will disappear when Reuters office building is completed; discusses altering traffic patterns to expand pedestrian space in and around Times Square (M)

About New York; Air and Light: Helping a City Keep Its Soul

New York Rangers hockey player Wayne Gretzky announces his retirement from sport; says April 18 game against Pittsburgh Penguins will be his final game; his career discussed; records that he holds listed; photo (M)

Gretzky, Hockey's No. 1 Scorer, Retires With Rinkful of Records

Tour of Kosovo shows evidence of ethnic purging in burnt out homes and businesses and with many doors being spray-painted with either Christian 'C' or 'S' to indicate that home or busness is occupied by Serbs; hundreds of thousands of Kosovar Albanians have been forced from their homes in sweeps conducted by Yugoslav security forces, either to flee abroad, wander to other parts of Kosovo, or die; photo; map (M)

In Kosovo, Empty Towns, Burned Homes and Shops

Growing collection of state reports on condition of Americans who leave welfare rolls under new restrictions find that about two-thirds of former recipients find jobs, while one-fifth find themselves worse off than before; detailed welfare reports from Washington State, Maryland, Kentucky, South Carolina and Massachusetts discussed (M)

Most Get Work After Welfare, Studies Suggest

Ten days ago, thousands of refugees waiting to enter Macedonia were herded back into Kosovo by Serbian forces. The flow has reversed, and some newly arrived Kosovars tell of their ordeals. Page A9.      

Refugee Flow Resumes

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan denounces growing protectionist pressures and argues that pockets of workers sometimes have to suffer in order for nation to prosper; outlines broad case for knocking down trade barriers and warns that attempts to halt development of more global economy are futile and harmful; Greenspan's influence could be substantial help to Clinton Administration as it seeks to complete deal with China and Congressional approval for pact; Greenspan differs with Administration on how best to frame benefits of free trade; photo (M)

Greenspan Denounces Growing Protectionism

Essex County, New Jersey, Prosecutor Patricia Hurt releases Terrance Everett, saying suspect could not have been at scene where Orange Police Officer Joyce Carnegie was shot to death; acknowledges that Everett also passed lie detector test; his lawyers say Everett was with his wife at fast-food restaurant ten blocks away when Carnegie was killed; manager reportedly has security video; Hurt's admission continues unsettling developments in case; another suspect, Earl Faison, died in police custody (M)

Prosecutor Releases Man Charged in Policewoman's Death

Couch to Browns Is Likely, the Rest Is Uncertain

 Dow Jones Industrials Rise To Fifth Consecutive High  The Dow Jones industrial average rose to a fifth consecutive record as Eastman Kodak soared on unexpectedly strong earnings. But computer stocks extended their weeklong slide, leaving major indexes mixed.  

BUSINESS DIGEST

Telecom Italia SpA, trying to thwart hostile takeover bid by its rival Olivetti SpA, is discussing possible merger with Deutsche Telekom AG; such a combination would create one of world's biggest companies, with stock market value of $216 billion and annual revenue totaling $63 billion; photo (M)

A New Player Enters Italian Phone Contest

Venezuela's new president, Hugo Chavez Frias, is asserting control over state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, to revive Government revenues and to give Venezuela more clout with OPEC, which is trying to raise prices by limiting exports; Chavez has forced company to reduce output; since taking office on Feb 2, Chavez quickly halted ambitious expansion program aimed at doubling oil production, calling it 'irrational'; he announced plans for new independent companies to develop natural gas and petrochemicals, and he strengthened ties with OPEC; Chavez's critics contend oil company needs only some minor tinkering, not major overhaul; graph; photo (M)

Hasta la Vista, Oil Kings; Venezuela Tightens Grip on State Petroleum Company

April 18 New York Times magazine section to feature 'best' feature articles of century; photo (S)

COMING ON SUNDAY: The Last Thousand Years

Craig Kielburger, 16-year-old son of Toronto schoolteachers, talks with students in Brentwood, New York, about campaign against child labor around the world; photos; Kielburger explains how he read four years ago about murder of Pakistani youth who had been sold into bondage at age 5; his Free the Children club now has chapters in 20 countries and has raised money to build schools in third-world countries; young people in Willimantic, Conn, and other New York area communities join campaign (M)

A Crusade of Children; Teen-Ager Enlists Peers in a Fight Against Child Labor

New York State inquiry concludes in case of mixed-up embryos that embryologist Michael Obasaju knew another couple's embryos had been implanted, but failed to tell Dr Lillian Nash to stop procedure, and prepared second batch with correct embryos, thinking that first batch were of lower quality and would not grow; report says Obasaju confessed error after Donna Fasano, who is white, became pregnant; she gave birth to two boys, one black; report also finds numerous procedural violations at clinic, IVF New York; punitive action against Obasaju is not likely because state does not license or certify embryologists; black couple, Deborah Perry Rogers and Robert Rogers, filed suit for custody of black baby; Fasanos have said they will allow Rogerses to raise child if DNA tests show he is theirs (M)

Birth Mix-Up Avoidable, Inquiry Finds

Article discusses record of Minnesota Gov Jesse Ventura in his first three months in office; recent public opinion survey shows Ventura with 57 percent approval rating among voters; several of his policy statements discussed; photo (M)

Ventura Is Leading, but Is Offering No Examples

Internal Revenue Service begins process of firing Jennifer Long, first internal revenue agent to publicly blow whistle about agency abuses; action is halted when Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V Roth protested to Tax Comr Charles O Rossotti about retailiation against Long; Long was star of hearings before Finance Committee in September 1997 that focused on accusations that taxpayers were abused by IRS; photo (M)

On Tax Day, I.R.S. Prepared To Fire Star Whistle-Blower

 Greenspan the Free Trader  Alan Greenspan, the Federal Reserve chief, denounced growing protectionist pressures and said that workers sometimes had to suffer for the nation to prosper. Page C1.

INSIDE

George Vecsey Sports of The Times tribute to Wayne Gretzky, lauded as 'greatest player' in history of hockey, and 'perhaps the single most innovative North American athlete since Babe Ruth'; photos (M)

Sports of The Times; For Hockey and History, a Singular Star

Analysis of Federal Judge Joe Kendall's order that pilots' union at American Airlines pay carrier nearly $46 million for defying his order to return to work in February after hundreds of pilots called in sick in dispute that forced airline to cancel thousands of flights; says decision is hardly end of conflict between union and airline; holds appeal process will take months, if not years; says American and its pilots still have to work out their differences or airline could face more disruption (M)

Pilots Lose A Battle, Not the War

Detroit Pistons defeat New York Knicks, 80-71, Palace, Auburn Hills, Mich (M)g

Knicks Unravel Once More, Falling Below Playoff Line

NATO pilots claim one of their most successful nights in air campaign against Yugoslavia, destroying several tanks and artillery sites and damaging large air base; NATO and Clinton Administration officials say that warplanes also gathered new photographic evidence to back up reports of mass killings of Kosovo refugees; photo; map (M)

ALLIANCE REPORTS SUCCESSFUL NIGHT OF BOMBING SERBS

Vancouver Canucks sign free-agent wing Steve Kariya (S)

Canucks Sign Steve Kariya

April 15 artcle about Macedonian Government's fears that Yugoslavia is trying to destabilize country recounted history of 12,000 NATO troops in Macedonia incorrectly (S)

Corrections

''Either we are the envy of the nation or the laughingstock. I haven't decided.''    BARBARA CARLSON, on Jesse Ventura, Minnesota's Governor. [A13 ]  

April 17, 1999

Headlines from April 17, 1999

About New York; Air and Light: Helping a City Keep Its Soul

Gretzky, Hockey's No. 1 Scorer, Retires With Rinkful of Records

In Kosovo, Empty Towns, Burned Homes and Shops

Most Get Work After Welfare, Studies Suggest

Refugee Flow Resumes

Billboard 200

...Baby One More Time

Fanmail

The Slim Shady LP

Sogno

Americana

Historical Context for April 17, 1999